UN officials were openly pessimistic in the lead-up to the talks, but today Staffan de Mistura promised a “serious try” at brokering some sort of peace as Syrian government and rebel forces arrived in Geneva for another round of internationally backed peace talks.
Despite efforts by brokering nations like Russia and Turkey, the fighting didn’t actually stop in the lead-up to the talks, with both sides reporting that they are continuing to carry out military operations in various parts of the country.
Such fighting amid the talks has derailed efforts in the past, with one side or the other declaring that losses they suffered during the negotiations prove the other side isn’t serious about a diplomatic deal, and withdrawing outright. That’s just one of many problems the negotiators are likely to face, however.
The hope is always that the peace talks will lead to a negotiated settlement with a unity government and eventually free elections, but both government and rebels have very different ideas of how that’s going to work out, and some of the rebels are insisting unilateral regime change as a precondition for any deal, followed by new laws precluding most of the existing leadership running in future “free” elections.
Lately, Antiwar has been relying on Reuters way too much.
Reuters is not so much about fake news, but about entire fake reality. The link offered in this article is a perfect illustration. In describing the supposedly shaky ceasefire, Reuters resorts to verbal games. So, Syrian government is presumably engaged in violating ceasefire by engaging “rebels”, or “insurgents”, and occassionally named “Islamic rebels” when describing the conflict in Aleppo province. The lying Reuters never tells readers that these are fighters all under Al-Nusra (renamed, yet again into Levant Front), Al-Qaeda based group of majority foreign fighters, a group and its allied gangs — SPECIFICALLY EXLUDED FROM THE CEASEFIRE. Reuters mentions ONLY ISIS as excluded. The other lie — no other way to call it — is that Syria treats all opposition as terrorists. Not true. There is POLITICAL OPOSITION that is on the side of government against armed opposition. Second — many armed “opposition” groups have cut a deal on amnesty, resulting in Al-Nusra foreign fighters to leave and join Al-Nusra in Idlib. Syria does not treat those as terrorists. Then — there are armed groups that signed ceasefire, and they are not called terrorists. They joined Astana ceasefire. AMONG ALL THOSE THAT SIGNED UP TO ASTANA ease fire holds. The problem is — the lying media is not lying for lying sake. They are pushing the agenda of the bureaucracies in the West. And the buteucracies are getting their marching orders. UN can only pretend that work is done — but for as long as Saudi based “oposition” consisting of out-of-Syria personalities can obstruct the process, nothing will be done.
But reality is overtaking them. With Al-Bab under Turkish control Kurds do not have the manpower in Kobani area that can tackle ISIS. Or even less capacity to hold the unhappy Arab population post-ISIS. Russia is fortifying Deir Azzor and Palmyra areas.
Mosul-Raqqa operations are being planned. Since UK is still being sweet on Al-Nusra,, it will be funded. But in the end, they will have to surrender. Probably to Turkey.
Reuters may not have heard, but two of their Al -Nusra “rebel” commanders just put on US TERRORIST LIST.
It would be really nice to see a day when maintream lying media stops excusing and sugarcoating terrorism.